((I'm sorry for the length of this post... It really ran away on me, and this was the best I could trim it down to. I promise that future posts will not be this bad. ))

Subject: F1094
~~~shuffle, shuffle, shuffle~~~
Age: 92 Days
…The subject has survived twice as long as any of the previous experiments. This milestone has the team cautiously hopeful that we may have finally successfully created a viable human/plant hybrid. Tests reveal that the subject’s anatomy is very similar to a normal female infant. However there are several anomalies which will require further study. E.g.: the subject appears to be without hair follicles, there are two cavities in the subject’s back (below the shoulder blades) which show no apparent purpose; and perhaps most interestingly, the subject’s cells contain both mitochondria and chloroplasts. This combination is heretofore unknown in any plant or animal.

The subject’s green skin and eyes are undoubtedly due to the chlorophyll in the chloroplasts, however whether said chlorophyll functions for photosynthesis remains yet to be determined…

~~~shuffle, shuffle, shuffle~~~
Age: 7 Years
… The vines have continued to grow into a coil within the cavities, and the subject is able to propel and retract them seemingly at will. Also, when the vines are extended, the subject exhibits prehensile control. Unfortunately, when asked to explain how it is achieved, the subject was once again unable. The frustrating lack of answers has prompted the decision to instill basic knowledge of matters that are deemed relevant to the project, e.g. anatomy, botany, and biology.

~~~shuffle, shuffle, shuffle~~~
Age: 10 Years
… While the left vine has fully regenerated, the left pinky fingertip which was severed has shown no signs of recovery…

~~~shuffle, shuffle, shuffle~~~
Age: 20 Years
…It has been decided to remove the canine/plant hybrid from the enclosure. The subject has become too attached and is protective almost to the point of overcoming the conditioned fear of bladed instruments. Defiance will not be tolerated.

…The extraction of the canine did not go as anticipated. Once the canine was tranquilized, the subject became extremely agitated, and attacked the two guards sent in to retrieve it. The subject used both vines and body in an attempt to protect the canine. The incident ended when one of the guards managed to cut approximately three inches off the left vine. As always, the intense pain subdued the subject.

It is possible that, during the struggle, the subject saw me in the observation room. I will have to devise a plausible explanation as to why I did not intervene, for a loss of trust now would prove detrimental to the project. I ca

~~~~~

At least, that’s what Flora would have read had she ever been taught how to read. As it was, she just riffled through the folder that Dr. Hollins always had with her; pausing at some of the pictures and diagrams that seemed to chronicle her life.

Finished with the folder, she turned again to survey the room that she was now in. The initial shock had started to wear off, and the gravity of the situation was soaking in. With only a shaft of light coming from a crack near the ceiling to see by, she wasn’t able to see much, but it was more than enough.

She looked back through the broken two-way mirror into what had been the only home she’d ever known, and for a moment, wished everything could go back to the way it was. Knowing that was impossible, she turned away from the thirst she could feel from the dying plants in her enclosure, and focused again on the scene in this outer room.

There were four bodies lying about: two were men wearing the clothes of the bad people, and she felt rage and a sense of justice when looking at them. The third was Dr. Adams, a nice enough person, but she hadn’t known him long and he was always distant, so she only felt pity at his death. The final body was the most disturbing...

Dr. Hollins, the only person Flora had known her entire life, and yet she felt conflicted emotions when looking upon her remains. The last time she had seen the doctor, she was in this very room and had simply watched as the bad people took Chrysy away and cut her vine. So, while saddened by the loss, she was still hurting from that betrayal.

“Why,” she asked, looking into the doctor’s lifeless eyes. “Why didn’t you try to stop them?” Knowing she’d never get an answer, she turned away to try to figure out what to do. She knew she couldn’t stay there, so she tried to open the door but when it wouldn’t open, she went over to the crack in the wall. When she reached the beam of sunlight, she stopped for a moment because the light on her face was comforting. Looking at her hands, she noticed for the first time that her skin was an unhealthy yellow-green color instead of its normal green.

“I have to get out of here,” she said, and she then extended the vine from her right wrist up to the hole. By carefully feeling around, she could tell that the edges were too sharp for her to be able to pull herself up to look out, and when pushing with all her strength around the hole, the wall did not give.

She figured she’d need a keycard, so she started searching the room as best as she could. Some of the first things she found were two flashlights, one working one not, and with the one flashlight in hand she set about searching a little more thoroughly. There were two cabinet doors on the wall away from the hole. The first cabinet contained what appeared to be supplies for an extended stay by one of the doctors. There were several food and water containers, a few changes of clothes and lab coats, and a couple bags, but no keycard.

Flora immediately grabbed one of the waters and drank it in next to no time. She was about to open a second, when it occurred that she didn’t know when she’d get more, so she decided to conserve what she had. She felt a little guilty about not giving any water to the plants, but she knew there wasn’t enough to do them any good.

She opened one of the food cans, and ate while packing the rest of the food and water, and some of the clothes into one of the bags. Finished with that bag, she set it on the floor, grabbed another bag, and opened the second cabinet. She was hoping to find the keycard for the door and at the very least was expecting to find more supplies, but she wasn’t prepared for what she saw. Inside was an array of blades ranging from surgical scalpels, to gardening shears, to a menacing looking machete.

Overcome with sheer terror, Flora quickly backed away from the cabinet, and though she stumbled over the debris, she was unable to take her eyes off of the blades. When her back hit the opposite wall, she slid down, and sat staring into the cabinet. She didn’t know how long she sat there, but a couple loud bangs heard through the hole brought her back to her senses.

Her breathing was still quick and uneven, she glanced again at the cabinet, and then down to where she had left the bag of supplies. She knew she needed that bag, but there was no way she was going to go anywhere near there. She tried to use one of her vines to get the bag, but wasn’t able to reach more than a foot before snapping back. As she was trying to still her trembling hands, she heard another loud bang and indistinct shouting.

Shouting meant people, and that meant she could ask for help. Steeling herself, she shot her vine out as quickly as she could, grabbed the bag, and just as quickly, pulled back in. After a brief check of the cabinet to reassure that nothing had moved, she tried to put the blades out of her mind as she focused on the sounds coming from outside.

The shouting seemed to stop, and she was just about to call out, when she suddenly heard a voice that sounded like the person was right behind her. Well it seems you can see us, “Who’s there?” she asked, startled.

But we can’t see you. “Where are you?” she got back to her feet and began shining the flashlight into all the corners, and even back into her enclosure.

I don’t think that is very polite “But I can’t see you,” she was starting to feel a little annoyed and frustrated. “Talk about my manners.”

We aren’t violent. We want no trouble. “Well me neither.”

Please put your weapon down. “But I don’t have a weapon!” At that point she was so frustrated that she was shouting, and turning to the hole she continued, “Are you out there? Look, I really can’t see you, and I don’t want any trouble either, so can I come out now? If not, we’re really going to need more water and light in here,” she paused for a moment, and in a voice of almost desperate hope, she added, “And if I promise to behave, can Chrysy come back… please?”

Megan smirked, That's all I wanted. My name is Megan. You already know my friend's name. Might ask who you are? she also wanted to ask what she was- seeing as how Megan had powers, why couldn't everyone else? Megan cocked her head, she had so many questions. By the looks of these people, they had been out here for a while, which means they had answers. At least a few. Then, out of no where, Megan heard a female voice in the distance. Someone else was out there?
Megan almost laughed, the unknown girl seemed to think Megan was talking to her. She zeroed in on the girls mind and started to talk to just her, Where are you? You can come out, I wont hurt you. Megan looked at the others contemplatively, And the others wont either... She couldn't hear exactly what the girl was saying, what ever it was she sounded a little panicked- probably because she had no idea where Megan's voice was coming from, You just need to calm down. I can't hear you, you know. You're to far away. Come out from where ever you are hiding. Through all this, Megan tried to keep her mental voice calm and reassuring.

May Your Life Be As Long, And As Useful, As A Roll Of Toilet PaperGrammar: The difference between knowing your garbage and knowing you're garbage. ;P

There is an almost exaggerated sigh of relief as Chime takes on an even more sagged and drooped stature with a long exhale. He wipes away from sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand as he squints and blinks a few times at Lacy. The creases around his eyes are deep, forming crow's feet that make his face look older then he otherwise appears. He slowly walks over to where he had dropped his rock and his can of food and kneels down to pick them up. It was then that he heard the distant and distorted sound of shouting from somewhere in one of the nearby structures. This causes him to pause and hold his breath for a moment, before he cautiously looks about his person. Slowly he stands up, idly working on opening the can again, seeming more interested in the food than anything else. However, his ears are alert, and his occasionally steals a glance at either Lacy or Megan.

A canner exceedingly canny, one morning remarked to his granny, "a canner can can anything that he can but a canner can't can a can, can he?"

"I'm Lacy. That's all you need to know for now." She told Megan, knowing that Megan must have telepathy. Then she heard the sounds of shouting in the distance. Muffled and faint. She quickly poked her head around to Nixxy and called out. "It's okay. They're friendly." She couldn't see Nixxy so she figured that she was hiding somewhere. "And there's yelling from somewhere. We need to find out where. If you can lead us it'd be great but I'm heading off now so just catch up with us. You'll find us. You always do." She walked back to the others and grabbed her gun off the ground and slung it over her shoulder. She quickly took a long drink from her drink bottle and said, "I'm gonna go find whoever is yelling. Anybody know where they are?" And then set off in a random direction, allowing the others to follow her. "And don't put a knife in my back either. I'll make sure you're dead before I am." She meant it good-naturedly but was serious about the threat.

"In spite of everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
-Anne Frank

"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
-Sherlock Holmes

When the person answered her call, Flora became quite confused. The voice didn’t sound like it was coming from outside, but rather it was almost like it was in her own mind. This was something she’d never encountered before or been told about, and she didn’t know what to make of it.

“How can I hear you if you can’t hear me,” she mumbled quietly. Though she was somewhat reassured that this person and the “others” weren’t going to hurt her, she had been told that before with unpleasant results. Still, she knew she needed help, so she figured she had no choice but to take a chance. “But I can’t come out!” she shouted. “The door won’t open, and I can’t find the key,” and to emphasize the point, she hit the door once with a vine which resulted in a sort of *pang* sound.

((Thanks Sammiannnz, I’m glad you liked my post.
I have some pics of Flora, and I wanted to explain something about her vines. They end in ľ inch (1.9cm) long by ˝ inch (1.27cm) wide pods which have heavy concentrations of nerves, so they are highly sensitive. However, they're also strong enough to handle impacting with solid objects at surprising speeds without damage or pain (discomfort at times, but not pain). The pods rest on the surface where the vines exit the wrist, about a thumb length down the wrist, and she has taken to wrapping cloth around her wrists, so the pods and vines won’t be visible when our characters first meet. I know the cuffs in the pics are closer to the hand, but they were the best I could find, so please bear with me … ))

Nixxy stepped out of the shadows, listening intently to the shouting.
'Awfully distracted, aren't we?' Nixxy thought to herself. She shook her head quickly and held the knives in a peaceful, albeit slightly nervous way. Still listening intently, she followed Lacey, hardly paying attention to anything. After a while, she could pick up a few words, but she wasn't sure where she was. Closer, obviously, but she couldn't seen Lacey or the others anymore. Hear them, yes, and they were going in the right direction.
'Guess I found a shortcut,' Nixxy thought drily.

Chime lifted his gaze as Lacvy went to investigate the yeling, finally getting the can open. Some of the perservative juices spill onto his hand, and he transfers the can from hand to the other. The spilt upon hand is raised to his mouth as if about to lick, but then he stops and quickly puts his hand down, wiping the goo off on his shirt instead. He had not had a chance to wash his hands, and there was still dried blood deep in the grooves of his fingerprints and under his short nails. Frowning, he sets the can down and glances over, catching a sight of Nixxy as she goes to follow Lacy. Chime gives a glance over at Megan, then offers up a weak shrug.

"I guess we might as well go see as well... you know, to stick together..." Chime says. He picks up his can again, wishing he had a spoon or fork. As it is, he just raises it carefully to his lips and lets the beans inside slide into his mouth as he walks. Alternating between nursing the can of beans and wiping away sweat, Chime stumbles along behind Lacy until they reach the hole the voice was shouting from. He walks over to where he heard a pang sound, squatting down and listening for a moment later, setting down his half-finished beans.

"Whose down there?"

A canner exceedingly canny, one morning remarked to his granny, "a canner can can anything that he can but a canner can't can a can, can he?"

As she waited for a response, Flora couldn’t help but wonder who these people were. Were they with Dr. Hollins, or were they some more of the bad people, or were they some of the “outsiders” that she had occasionally heard about. That last thought gave her a moment of pause. She was taught very little about the greater world, but had often been told that those from the outside would not understand how special she was and would try to hurt her or separate her from Dr. Hollins.

For her entire life, she had taken everything the doctors told her at face value, but she’d begun to have some doubts of late. Dr. Hollins had always told her that she did everything she could to protect her, but Flora couldn’t begin to count the number of times the bad people had done whatever harm they wanted: cutting her vine, shooting her with darts that made her sleep, even cutting off part of her pinky. All those times Hollins had said she was unable to stop them, but after this last incident, Flora began to wonder if she had ever even tried.

Standing in the shaft of sunlight, she started to absentmindedly rub the end of her left pinky as she considered the possibilities. If they’re bad people, she thought, they might punish me for breaking the mirror. But if they’re doctors, then they might take me to another safe place. But if they’re outsiders, would they help me…would I want them to help me…do I have any other choices? If I don’t get help, I’ll die …

Her musings were halted when she heard approaching footsteps, and then a voice say, “Whose down there?” It wasn’t the same voice that had been talking to her before, and it was definitely coming from outside. The voice didn’t sound like it belonged to one of the bad people or one of the doctors. In fact, she had never heard a voice like that before, so she was trying to figure out why the voice sounded so strange as she answered the question.

“It’s me, Flora,” she said, in a voice that clearly asked the unspoken who else would it be?

"Flora?" Lacy said, kneeling down to the crack, letting the light into the room Flora was in. "Can you get out? Is the door blocked and is there any other way in?"
Lacy didn't really want one more person, but couldn't leave somebody trapped.

"In spite of everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
-Anne Frank

"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
-Sherlock Holmes

Nixxy continued to wander around, still listening. After eventually walking in one huge circle, she made it back to the main group. Lacey was kneeling down, looking into some sort of hole.
"Is that where Flora is?" Nixxy asked quietly.

It was yet another voice asking questions this time, and Flora heard another person a little further away. She was starting to get a little nervous as she wondered just how many people were out there. There were questions she wanted to ask, but was afraid that doing so might anger them and cause them to leave her there, so she just answered the questions that had been asked to her.

“No, I can’t get out,” Flora answered as she headed toward the steps that led up to the door. “And I don’t know of any other way in or-” Her words were cut off with a gasp when she once again caught sight of the cabinet full of blades. The bottom step was far too close to that cabinet for her liking, and for a moment she wasn’t able to move any closer to it.

Knowing she didn’t have any other options, she took a deep, shaky breath, focused on the top step, and ran as quickly as she could past the cabinet. Once at the door, she took a couple more deep breaths to calm herself, and then she tried to open the door as she said, “The door isn’t blocked in here, but…it…won’t…open.” She emphasized the last three words by hitting the door with her shoulder.

((OOC: Not sure how anyone else is picturing the scene outside the bunker, but this is what I was seeing when I wrote this post: the door frame is pretty much flat on the ground and is maybe about 10 to 20 feet (3.048 to 6.096 m) away from the hole. The entire door and frame has been covered by a layer of sand (unknown thickness) so it’s not plainly visible, but hitting the underside of the door might have shaken the sand enough to reveal the outline. Hopefully that made sense…))

Lacy noticed the dust falling from a doorway. "Over there." Lacy said, pointing. She threw her weight against the door but it didn't open. "Are you okay? Is this your door?" Shs called out through the door.

"In spite of everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
-Anne Frank

"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
-Sherlock Holmes

“Yes,” Flora answered. “This is my door, and I’m okay, but…” she paused, and a shiver ran down her spine as she glanced back at the cabinet and the human remains in the room. With desperation clear in her voice, she finished, “I’d really like to get out of here, please.”